The Kasukabe Big Kite Festival is scheduled in 2023, for the first time in four years. The kite was actually flown last year, but only on one day and without spectators or the festival. They are currently inviting people aged between 16 and 60 years old to apply to participateRead More →
NAKED Night Walk and Night Illumination Train, Chichibu, Winter 2023. Renowned for their digital art, Naked Inc needs little introduction for those in Japan. In the winter of 2023, they are creating, as they say, “a new winter festival” in Chichibu, the festival district of Saitama Prefecture. Chichibu is madeRead More →
Information for, and an account of, visiting Japan’s largest Dolls festival display at the Konosu Surprising Dolls Festival or Konosu Bikkuri Hina Matsuri in Japanese. 鴻巣びっくりひな祭り。 Japan’s largest dolls festival pyramid display “Konosu Doll Pyramid” in Konosu, Saitama Prefecture, is just a 50 minute train ride from Ueno station inRead More →
The Japanese New Year tradition of Hatsumode… Hatsumode is the first visit of the year to a shrine or a temple, an important and much practiced tradition in the New Year in Japan. There are many shrines and also temples all around Saitama where you can practise Hatsumode. It doesn’tRead More →
Ten places for Dezome Shiki, a New Year Firefighter festival of sorts, in Saitama Prefecture. For the first time in three years, all of the New Year Firefighter festivals around Saitama Prefecture are scheduled for January 2023. In 2022, only three of the places on this list of ten, hadRead More →
The Chichibu Night Festival is held on the 2nd and 3rd of December annually. On account of the pandemic, the festival was very basic in 2020 and 2021. They only carried out some of the religious parts of the festival. Moreover, in 2021 it was for invited guests only. Also,Read More →
The first ever Kawaguchi fireworks took place in May 2019. However, in 2020 they decided to hold the fireworks in Autumn. It was actually nothing to do with the pandemic at the time that they decided to change the date, but actually due to the Olympics and due to damageRead More →
Information for the 43rd annual Tokorozawa Citizens Festival, a large and popular festival, at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial park, near Tokyo. First up, an apology to my Facebook followers for posting that the Tokorozawa Citizens Festival was on last weekend! Thankfully, I had posted the poster for the festival so itRead More →
The Wako Citizens’ Festival is an autumn festival, held annually in November. The main festival is normally on for two days around the middle of November, with smaller events in the lead up to it, but in 2022 there will be just one main day. There will, however, be smallerRead More →
For the first time in three years: the Honjo Festival, ‘the best float festival on the Nakasendo’. The Honjo Festival is one of two festivals that take place in Honjo City in early November. The Kodama Autumn Festival takes place on the Culture Day public holiday, November 3rd, only. ButRead More →